Zoning committee advances mix of rezonings, commercial rebuilds and tobacco permit cases to full council

The Toledo Zoning and Planning Committee on April 16 advanced a slate of zoning and special-use items to the full City Council, approving most site proposals for referral and recommending disapproval or further review for several proposed tobacco shops.

Committee members forwarded a renovation at Notre Dame Academy to install an artificial turf soccer/lacrosse field, a Circle K rebuild and canopy at 1565 Alexis Road, a zone change and use permit for seven duplex and single-family units on Greystone Parkway, and a proposal to reopen the former Rescue Crisis facility as a psychiatric hospital to the April 22 council meeting. Several tobacco shop proposals prompted debate; one (1122 Northburn Road) was sent to council without committee recommendation after objections from some members and the University of Toledo, while two others were recommended for disapproval due to spacing and neighborhood concerns.

Why it matters: The committee’s referrals set the council agenda for April 22 and continue deliberations on how Toledo regulates tobacco specialty stores while processing redevelopment and housing projects that affect neighborhoods across the city.

Key items forwarded to council (committee recommendations and next steps): - Case SUP25-0004 (3535 Westsylvania Ave., Notre Dame Academy): Special-use permit to replace a natural grass soccer/lacrosse field with artificial turf. Planning staff recommended approval subject to 10 conditions; the committee advanced the item to the full City Council as approved. (Committee: advanced; full council hearing April 22 at 4 p.m.) - Case Z25-0005 & SUP25-0006 (1565 Alexis Road, Circle K): Zone change from IG (General Industrial) to CR (Regional Commercial) and a special-use permit for a gas station. The plan commission recommended approval subject to 37 conditions; the committee advanced both items to the full council as approved, with a clarified signage condition to align with the new sign code (TMC 11.13 allowing a monument sign up to 12 feet). (Advanced to full council.) - Case SUP24-00122 (3026 Glendale Ave, Wild Bill’s Tobacco): Special-use permit recommended by the planning commission with 15 conditions; forwarded to full council as approved after committee discussion about existing Wild Bill locations and an upcoming tobacco study. (Advanced to full council.) - Case Z25-0004 (1316 Nebraska Ave): Zone change from CR to RD6 (duplex residential) for an existing group home; the committee advanced the item to the full council as approved. - Case SUP25-0008 (1122 Northburn Road, proposed tobacco shop): The planning commission recommended disapproval; at committee, council members debated proximity to University of Toledo and neighborhood impacts. Staff said spacing rules in city code were not violated. The committee forwarded the application to the full council without recommendation and noted the possibility of including a one-year review condition. (Forwarded to full council without recommendation.) - Case SUP24-00113 (606 North Reynolds Road, tobacco/cigar shop): Planning commission recommended approval subject to 30 conditions; at committee the recommendation was to send it to council as disapproved and the committee ordered it disapproved. (Advanced to full council as disapproved.) - Case SUP-7007-24 (1501 South Detroit Ave, tobacco shop): Planning commission recommended disapproval because of a spacing violation with Snyder Park; the committee agreed and recommended disapproval. (Advanced to full council as disapproved.) - Case Z24-0002 (0 Greystone Parkway): Zone change to permit a development of five duplexes and four single-family homes (14 units total); the committee advanced the item to the full council as approved. - Cases Z25-0003 and SUP25-002 (3325–3350 Collingwood Blvd): Zone change to commercial and a special-use permit for a psychiatric hospital reusing a former rescue/crisis facility. The plan commission recommended approval subject to 18 conditions; the committee advanced both items to the full council as approved.

What the committee did not decide: On some contentious tobacco-shop requests the committee relied on planning staff’s technical findings (including spacing measured parcel-to-parcel) while members expressed policy and public‑health concerns. For one application (1122 Northburn) the committee specifically forwarded the matter without recommendation so the full council can weigh competing considerations and any proposed conditions, including a staff-suggested one-year administrative review if council approves an SUP.

Next steps: All advanced items are scheduled for full City Council consideration on April 22 at 4 p.m.; council may adopt, reject, amend conditions, or send items back to committee.

Votes at the committee were procedural; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the committee transcript for each forwarded referral. The clerk will provide official vote records in the full Council packet.